


a miracle, a mile away

by IcarusPendragon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Katara is Zuko's hero!, Maybe - Freeform, One Shot, Post-War, and she deserves to know!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28186629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcarusPendragon/pseuds/IcarusPendragon
Summary: Katara: master waterbender, teacher of the avatar, hero of the world, savior of the fire nation, personal hero of the fire lord.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	a miracle, a mile away

**Author's Note:**

> hi all, i saw a post on tumblr talking about zuko referencing katara as his personal hero and thought "hm, i should write that."

Zuko should have known that his ministers would not have taken an immediate liking to Katara. In fact, he was well aware that it would take them a while to warm up to her. But he thought they would come around. That they would see the goodness in her, the generosity that radiated from her. He hoped they would realize, sooner rather than later, that everything she did, everything she said or suggested was done so with the best interest of his citizens in mind. With the best interest of the  _ world  _ in mind. That is why he had asked her to come to the Fire Nation, asked her to help him navigate this new peace. Asked her to help him figure out the  _ after _ . 

And help she did. She dutifully sat through all the meetings, taking notes and taking part in the discussions, offering a different view, a different perspective, a different solution. Every day since she had arrived (roughly six months), his fondness and appreciation for her had grown and she found her footing in international politics and foreign policy and he knew that he would be so deeply lost without her. 

He’d done his best to get vetting for them all, all of the ministers who were supposed to help him repair the world. To have them all investigated and thoroughly checked out, but there were some who, while having the best interest of fire nation citizens at heart, still clung to prejudice and propaganda, but Zuko could not remove them without causing some sort of political scandal. So as much as he hated it, as much as he knew the other ministers hated it, many meetings featured gritted teeth and careful composure.

But even with those things in mind, even knowing that the majority of his ministers no longer or never did cling to the hateful ideologies spewed by his father and grandfather, that does not deter the slap in the face, the sting that was hearing one of his ministers turn to Katara and say “Listen here, little water tribe girl-” during a meeting about how to help the poorest in the Fire Nation where Katara suggests a food bank, a system that is used in the Southern Water Tribe, a system that ensures no one is left behind. As soon as Zuko hears that, he stands and does not allow the minister to finish speaking. 

“Excuse you, Minister. That ‘little water tribe girl’ has a name and it’s Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe or Ambassador Katara. Those are the only two  _ acceptable _ titles for her.” Zuko says, voice low with fury. He generally and genuinely tries to keep his composure during these meetings, no matter how much he wants to stand and yell and scream and pull his hair out. But a line has been crossed and it is a line that Zuko  _ cannot  _ and  _ will not _ ignore. His other ministers are looking down at the table or staring out the window, all of them looking anywhere but at Zuko, a few with the ghosts of a smile hinting at their lips, but all are steadfastly avoiding even a glance at the minister he is currently questioning the employment status of. 

Katara is staring at him, mouth open slightly with whatever entirely too polite rebuttal she was going to use against the minister, but he can see the fire, the righteous fury igniting in her eyes, but all that does is add fuel to Zuko’s fire. 

“But Fire Lord Zuko,” the minister starts as if whatever he is about to say would excuse the disrespect that he just uttered. 

“No, not another word from you.” Zuko almost shouts. “Katara is not someone you can speak to however you want, she is your equal and you  _ will  _ treat her with respect.” 

The minister looks like he wants to say something else, to try and defend himself, but Zuko will not allow it. 

“She is the daughter of the leader of her nation, which actually puts her above you, so you have absolutely no room to treat her like she is lesser. She left her home, everything that she had ever known to risk her life so that she could teach the avatar, became a master of her element at  _ fourteen _ , fought and won against some of the fiercest warriors in the world, believed in me when no one else did- trusted me when she has every reason not to and when I betrayed that trust, found a way to trust me again.” 

The room is silent and tense and while Zuko knows that he has made his point, that he has solidified Katara’s belonging here by his side, he cannot stop the words that have been begging to be spoken for months, for as long as he has known and trusted and loved Katara. The longer he speaks the more the realization dawns on him. 

“Moreover, she took down Azula on the day of Sozin’s Comet, and when I was injured she saved my life. Do you understand? She. Saved. Me.” He says, staring the minister down and making sure to emphasize every single word. “Not only did she save  _ me _ , but she also helped save the  _ world _ . She helped save the Fire Nation and is still here, still saving us even though she has every reason to watch us all burn. She has witnessed and experienced the cruelty of the Fire Nation first hand. She has watched her tribe be decimated and her mother murdered, all at the hands of the very nation that she is in right now, trying to fix. She is a hero and a savior to the world and to the Fire Nation and more importantly, she is  _ my _ hero. She is  _ my _ savior. If it were not for her, you would be sitting here with Azula’s heel so far up your ass that it would tickle your throat, being nothing more than a pawn and watching helplessly as your nation is run into ruin. To speak ill of her, to insult her, is to speak ill of me, to insult me. Do you understand me?” Zuko finishes. 

The minister is pale, eyes wide and downcast as he nods, not bothering to try and speak again.  _ Good _ , Zuko thinks. 

“ _ You _ are dismissed,” he states, pointing at the minister, “and this meeting is adjourned.” he finishes as he takes his seat again to gather his papers. He knows that there is no getting the meeting back on track after that and it is best for them all to try again tomorrow. 

He keeps his eyes down, arranging and organizing as he listens to everyone scurry to leave the room as fast as possible. Everyone but one person. He takes some deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. Although thinks that he did a pretty good job, even if his words were harsh and angry, nothing was set on fire. 

All the ministers have left and Zuko looks up to see that Katara is still seated, having made no effort to move, and is peering at him with a strange look on her face. 

While fiery in his defense of her, he now has a hard time meeting her eyes. He can feel a blush that he doesn’t really have an explanation for creeping up on him slowly. He fumbles for the right words to say, something to resolve the lingering tension. 

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry about that. About him. He should have never talked to you that way.” He practically mutters, eyes glancing back down at the papers in front of him. 

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not really. But I’m okay.” She says quietly, softly. He risks another glance at her to see that the strange look is still there, but her eyes are different. They’re softer. 

Zuko clears his throat and goes to stand, she makes no move to do the same, so he pauses and then slowly sinks back down. 

He’s about to ask if she really was  _ okay  _ but she speaks again before he can ask. 

“Did you mean it?” 

“Of course, no one should talk to you that way. Especially not when you’re trying to help us.” He states, looking at her quizzically.  _ Does she not understand how much power she wields, how much respect she deserves?  _

“No, that’s not what I meant. I know that. I meant did you mean it? What you said about me being your hero?” She looks down at the table and Zuko spies a faint blush making its way across her face. Her voice is incredibly soft when she speaks next. “Your savior?” 

Zuko tries to ignore the warmth that spreads through him at the sight of her blush and attempts to school his face into anything but the dumbfounded look he so desperately wants to take on. 

“Of course.”  _ Of course. How could she not know?  _ “I meant everything I said. You saved me. You helped save the world. You sacrificed so much for me. For us. For everyone. It wouldn’t hurt for everyone to be reminded of that from time to time. And-” he says, faltering for just a moment, “I think you deserve to be reminded, too.” He finishes lamely. There are a million things that he wants to say right now, but his brain is screaming  _ not here, not now _ . 

She finally gets up from her seat and walks over to him and he suddenly finds himself wrapped in her warm embrace, his senses suddenly flooded with her. Jasmine and seawater and  _ Katara _ . 

“Thank you.” She whispers, and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, her voice sounds a little watery, but her head is buried in his hair close to the top of his head so he can’t see her, and that would be ridiculous. Master Katara, savior of the world and the Fire Nation, and Zuko, brought to any sort of tears over her accomplishments. 

“Of course,” Zuko responds softly. 

_ Of course.  _

  
  



End file.
